It's been a little over a month that Winnie has been with us and I am not sure what else I can try to get her to scratch the right places.
She usually wants to scratch when she first wakes up, or after she finishes eating. She wants to scratch the couch or chair, my bed (from the floor, standing and scratching as high as she can reach), or she'll occasionally scratch on the mat I have under her litter box. Besides the litter mat, I've never let her get away with it for more than a few seconds. I will move her to one of the many scratching things I've bought, but she doesn't start up again (she doesn't go back to the thing she was scratching 90% of the time, either)...
I've bought a LOT of scratchy things at this point. I probably have every type of surface and shape! But she'll scratch none of them. I have:
Cat Tower One (Carpet and sisal)
Loves the tower but only to lounge.
Cat Tower Two (Sherpa and sisal)
Loves the tower but only to lounge.
Mini hammock tower with sisal post
Loves the tower but only to lounge / bat around the balls or pull them up and play with them.
32 inch Ultimate Scratching Post
No interest
This vertical box scratcher
No interest
Wavy thing
She just likes to lay on this, or go under it.
Mini post with feathers
She's scratched this the most. She'll stretch to the very top and mostly scratch the fuzzy bit. It is the only scratcher/toy of hers that shows any wear. But it's still like, 3% of her scratching activity. She'll only do it once a week, if that.
In addition I covered a board with cotton batting and then covered it in a linen extremely similar to my couch. Propped it right up on the couch. No interest in it.
With all of these I make sure to play with them/around them/on them.
I have laid what I can in various positions.
I have held her paws to it and done scratching motions.
I have scratched it.
I rake toys over/up them so that she will extend her claws and 'feel' it, and climb.
Catnip is a popular suggestion. Well, she either doesn't like catnip or is not yet old enough to react to it. I saw that it can take until 6mo+ of age to react to catnip? She is only 4.5 or so. I have tried the little baggies that came with a lot of her toys, and I also bought spray oil, neither had any reaction whatsoever.
Any other suggestions? She obviously wants to scratch, and I don't let her scratch what she wants to scratch, so I'd really like to find 'the answer'!
She usually wants to scratch when she first wakes up, or after she finishes eating. She wants to scratch the couch or chair, my bed (from the floor, standing and scratching as high as she can reach), or she'll occasionally scratch on the mat I have under her litter box. Besides the litter mat, I've never let her get away with it for more than a few seconds. I will move her to one of the many scratching things I've bought, but she doesn't start up again (she doesn't go back to the thing she was scratching 90% of the time, either)...
I've bought a LOT of scratchy things at this point. I probably have every type of surface and shape! But she'll scratch none of them. I have:
Cat Tower One (Carpet and sisal)
Loves the tower but only to lounge.
Cat Tower Two (Sherpa and sisal)
Loves the tower but only to lounge.
Mini hammock tower with sisal post
Loves the tower but only to lounge / bat around the balls or pull them up and play with them.
32 inch Ultimate Scratching Post
No interest
This vertical box scratcher
No interest
Wavy thing
She just likes to lay on this, or go under it.
Mini post with feathers
She's scratched this the most. She'll stretch to the very top and mostly scratch the fuzzy bit. It is the only scratcher/toy of hers that shows any wear. But it's still like, 3% of her scratching activity. She'll only do it once a week, if that.
In addition I covered a board with cotton batting and then covered it in a linen extremely similar to my couch. Propped it right up on the couch. No interest in it.
With all of these I make sure to play with them/around them/on them.
I have laid what I can in various positions.
I have held her paws to it and done scratching motions.
I have scratched it.
I rake toys over/up them so that she will extend her claws and 'feel' it, and climb.
Catnip is a popular suggestion. Well, she either doesn't like catnip or is not yet old enough to react to it. I saw that it can take until 6mo+ of age to react to catnip? She is only 4.5 or so. I have tried the little baggies that came with a lot of her toys, and I also bought spray oil, neither had any reaction whatsoever.
Any other suggestions? She obviously wants to scratch, and I don't let her scratch what she wants to scratch, so I'd really like to find 'the answer'!